Frank Malfitano didn't want to throw a wet blanket over news that he's so very excited about.

So the founder and executive director of the Syracuse Jazz Fest proudly announced the national stage lineup for the June 26 and 27 free-admission festival on the campus of Onondaga Community College at a well-attended news conference that christened the new upstairs room at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse.

Jazz fusion stand-out Spyro Gyra will headline the Friday night of the 27th edition of the festival, joining previously announced soprano sax star Kenny G, who'll close the fest the Saturday night of the event. Spyro Gyra "was the first national group that we presented, back in the 80s," Malfitano said.

The Randy Brecker/Bill Evans Soulbop Band will open the main stage lineup June 26, a night that will pay tribute to late guitarist Hiram Bullock, who played the Syracuse fest many times. Creatchy & The Cats will perform an encore, with sets both nights. Led by keyboard player David Garfield and going by the name West Coast/East Coast All-Stars, the ensemble's pop-jazz work was a highlight of last year's fest.

Then came not-so-great news.

As of now, the fest has raised $200,000 toward its operating budget of $280,000. And that's a figure that Malfitano called an austerity budget, with $80,000 trimmed from the 2008 operating budget.

Onondaga County executive Joanie Mahoney lent her support of the fest and the fund-raising cause. She said she's reached out to country corporations to seek sponsorship money. Mahoney said that besides being a fun event for the county, it's also an important economic engine. She said, "Frank had the stroke of good luck in getting to the country budget before the bottom fell out in the fall." The fest is receiving $70,980 from the county for this year's event, up from $35,980 from 2008.

"The county has stepped up to the plate big-time," Mahoney said. "It's just up to others to step forward and follow the county's lead."

"We don't need a bail-out because we didn't do anything wrong, but we do need a stimulus package," Malfitano said.

Malfitano said if the additional funding is not raised in three or four weeks, he'll have to decide about cutting announced programming. But he's hoping that members of the community will step up before then.

"I'd like to think that we'll reach our goal," he said. "It looks daunting, bit it's a title sponsor, a stage sponsor, or a couple of tent sponsors."

In late November, Malfitano revealed a new economic model that includes for the first time corporate tents that will ring the seating area, in which sponsors can stage parties during the festival. About 100 color brochures were sent to area corporations outlining the proposal, he said.

Malfitano said he thinks it's a good economic model announced during the worst economy since 1945.

"This model doesn't rely on one sponsor," Malfitano said. "But if we found a title sponsor who was willing to pay the $100,000, we'll gladly accept the title sponsorship."

If a title sponsor doesn't step forward, this will be the first year the event will run without one. Last year it was called the JGB Syracuse Jazz Fest through a one-year deal with JGB Enterprises of Liverpool, which stepped in after M&T Bank and the fest parted ways.

After the news conference, Malfitano said that individuals who might want to donate to the festival can do so through the Syracuse Jazz Fest web site.